ESU faculty rally to support strike

Against a backdrop of stalled contract negotiations, East Stroudsburg University faculty rallied Thursday several days before they vote whether to strike the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

Against a backdrop of stalled contract negotiations, East Stroudsburg University faculty rallied Thursday several days before they vote whether to strike the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.

Faculty at the 14 state-run universities will vote Monday through Wednesday whether to authorize a strike, said Professor Nancy Van Arsdale, president of ESU's chapter of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties.

APSCUF members have been working without a contract for 16 months.

The union's votes will be pooled together and not tallied on an individual university basis, said Ken Mash, vice president of the state union and ESU chapter.

If a majority of faculty members approve the strike, the decision then goes before the 14 union presidents who represent each of the universities, Mash said. Out of the 14 union presidents, 10 must approve a strike.

The presidents would consider how a strike would affect education at their universities and the progress of contract negotiations, which are scheduled to continue through December.

It could still be a while until the strike decision is announced. The union's votes will not be tallied until next Friday, Mash said.

"If we don't stand now, we sit later — we lay down, and we can't have that," said English Professor Alan Benn as he rallied the crowd Thursday.

The demonstration included about 60 faculty members and some students.

"We don't want to strike. We offered binding arbitration. We were willing to put our eggs in that basket and PASSHE said 'No,'" said Professor Michelle Jones-Wilson. "We are being forced into a corner where (a strike) may be the only option."

The issue is not pay increases, Van Arsdale said.

Union and PASSHE officials were able to agree to a four-year contract that would include no pay increase in the first year, 1 percent increases in the second and third year, and a 2 percent increase in the fourth year.

Union members said PASSHE has proposed cutting the pay for temporary faculty by 35 percent, as well as increasing health care costs.

Raelynn McCafferty and Sean Ann Kelly, both 21 and seniors, came out to support the faculty Thursday. McCafferty learned about the demonstration from her professor, who handed out fliers in the hallway before class.

"They do so much for us. They are always there to help and always offer to extend their office hours," she said.

"I think our professors do a lot for us, and they deserve to have security at the end of the day," Kelly said.

Union and PASSHE officials will meet again today to continue negotiations.

APSCUF members authorized strike votes in 1999, 2003 and 2007. In each instance, faculty approved a strike, though settled their contracts before ever making it that far, Mash said.